1971 Targa 901 Shifter Issue

[Bavaria911]

I bought the 1971 Targa last year and it drives great.
Question: Should it be difficult to shift into First gear from either a slow rolling stop or at a complete stop at a light?
I want to teach the wife to drive the car, but if I'm fighting to shift over to the left and down in first with the force needed-- I believe the wife will have a very difficult time.
Last year I have the plastic ball cup at the bottom of the shifter and shift coupler replaced for new, due to both crumbling plastic parts sitting for 8 years.
Is there a part in the shifter under the rubber cover that may require adjustment or replacement?
Any help will be of assistance.

Scott

[Flieger]

Can you shift into reverse at a stop without grinding? First should be easy to get from second while coming to a stop. Sometimes hard when fully stopped (needs a clutch/declutch so the dog teeth don't hit point to point).

[edmayo]

And the shift linkage needs to be correctly adjusted, the gate for first should not require super human strength. Rarely do I see the linkage adjusted correctly.

[Bavaria911]

There is no grinding issues and at a stop I can put in reverse.

Ed - maybe an adjustment is necessary.

Just to be clear - once I push the shifter over to the left with force, it requires more force to pull down into 1st gear.
Shifting from 1st to 2nd is easy and all other gears are sweet.

[edmayo]

Remove the cover at the rear of the tunnel. Now loosen the pinch bolt, while keeping the bottom 4" of the lever vertical in the fore aft plane, move the lever over to the 4th 5th gear gate, notice which way the shift rod in the tunnel rotates when you do this, grabbing the coupling yoke move the trans shift lever all the way in the same direction the shift rod rotated. What you have now is the shift lever and the shift rod in the trans are all the way in the 4th 5th gear gates. Tighten the pinch bolt. See if it isn't easier now. My 19 year grand daughter shifts my 71 very easily.

[Bavaria911]

Awesome advice Ed, I'll do this adjustment soon and report back.

Scott

[Jon B]

One additional bit of advice, before making adjustments to the shift linkage:
Mark the pieces being adjusted, so you can return to their original position if necessary.

Jon B.
Vista, CA

[csbush]

My (30 year) experience with a 70 is similar. It is not as easy to shift into first as between the other gears. You are pulling against the detent to get the lever in position, and then pulling it down into gear. It isn't so much a matter of force, as getting someone unfamiliar with it to know how much pressure to use. It helps to shift into first as you are slowing to a stop as you stated, and shifting at a full stop requires even more finesse/force. Not saying that mine is perfectly adjusted, but I have replaced all the different bushings over the years, rebuilt the transmission, and adjusted the linkage per the factory manual. That all makes it better, but I don't think it is far off to say that they are not easy to shift and it takes some getting used to. Adjust your linkage as Ed suggests, but don't be surprised if is still a challenge.

[Bavaria911]

Ed and team,
I was able to adjust the shifter to a easier 1st gear, but it appears the clutch is the original (with 55K miles) and adjusting the cable to release in the middle is not possible. The clutch releases at the tail end of the peddle. Good thing is that it doesn't slip. So I intend to drop the engine and trans in the winter months to replace with all new Sachs parts.

I can't do that in my garage, so may I ask how long would it take a well established shop to do this work...rough hours for labor cost is what I'm looking to budget for.

Vr,
Scott

[edmayo]

Are you saying the clutch doesn't start to engage until the pedal is nearly at the top of the travel? Clutch adjustment procedure is to adjust free play first. Adjust cable so that there is about 1/2" to 3/4" of free play. Free play is measured by pulling pedal all the back, then (by hand, more sensitive) push forward until resistance is felt. That is free play. You must pull pedal back to start because it is sprung to always go forward, so pull back, then push forward. Once that is done you must set the pedal stop. Push forward (by hand) until resistance suddenly gets easier, that is over center on the diaphragm. Set the pedal stop on the floorboard to stop the pedal at that point. The clutch should START to engage about an inch and a half from the pedal stop. Of course you may still need to replace everything, but that is the adjustment procedure. The over center action is very defined with new parts, and gradually becomes less defined with clutch wear.